Crest-tailed mulgara

Dasycercus cristicauda

Blamed on cats

IUCN status: Vulnerable

EPBC Predator Threat Rating: High

IUCN claim: “Threats are poorly understood but include predation by and competition with feral cats and Red Foxes,”

Studies in support

Mulgara were found in cat’s diet (Mahon 1999; Paltridge 2002; Vernes et al. 2021b); and mulgara were last confirmed 24 and 43 years after cats arrived in NSW and the Nullarbor, respectively (Current submission).

Studies not in support

No studies

Is the threat claim evidence-based?

There are no studies linking cats to mulgara population trends.

Evidence linking Dasycercus cristicauda to cats. A. Systematic review of evidence for an association between Dasycercus cristicauda and cats. Positive studies are in support of the hypothesis that cats contribute to the decline of Dasycercus cristicauda, negative studies are not in support. Predation studies include studies documenting hunting or scavenging; baiting studies are associations between poison baiting and threatened mammal abundance where information on predator abundance is not provided; population studies are associations between threatened mammal and predator abundance. B. Last records of extirpated populations relative to earliest local records of cats. Error bars show record uncertainty range. Predator arrival records were digitized from Abbott 2008. See methods section in [current submission] for details on evidence categories.
Evidence linking Dasycercus cristicauda to cats. A. Systematic review of evidence for an association between Dasycercus cristicauda and cats. Positive studies are in support of the hypothesis that cats contribute to the decline of Dasycercus cristicauda, negative studies are not in support. Predation studies include studies documenting hunting or scavenging; baiting studies are associations between poison baiting and threatened mammal abundance where information on predator abundance is not provided; population studies are associations between threatened mammal and predator abundance. B. Last records of extirpated populations relative to earliest local records of cats. Error bars show record uncertainty range. Predator arrival records were digitized from Abbott 2008. See methods section in [current submission] for details on evidence categories.

References

Abbott, The spread of the cat, Felis catus, in Australia: re-examination of the current conceptual model with additional information. Conservation Science Western Australia 7 (2008).

Current submission (2023) Scant evidence that introduced predators cause extinctions.

EPBC. (2015) Threat Abatement Plan for Predation by Feral Cats. Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, Department of Environment, Government of Australia. (Table A1).

IUCN Red List. https://www.iucnredlist.org/ Accessed June 2023

Mahon, P.S., 1999. Predation by feral cats and red foxes and the dynamics of small mammal populations in arid Australia. PhD thesis, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.

Paltridge, R., 2002. The diets of cats, foxes and dingoes in relation to prey availability in the Tanami Desert, Northern Territory. Wildlife Research, 29(4), pp.389-403.

Vernes, K., Jackson, S.M., Elliott, T.F., Tischler, M. and Harper, A., 2021. Diets of mammalian carnivores in the deserts of north-eastern South Australia. Journal of Arid Environments, 188, p.104377.